Jalen Brunson Joins Knicks Royalty in Dethroning Kings
Jalen Brunson had a box score fit for a king on Saturday night ... except for the ones of the Sacramento variety.
Brunson joined New York Knicks royalty at Golden 1 Center, which hosted a 98-91 metropolitan victory over the Sacramento Kings. With 42 points (combined with a 45-point outing on Thursday in Portland), Brunson joins Bernard King (four times), Carmelo Anthony, and Patrick Ewing (twice each) as the only New Yorkers to score at least 40 in consecutive games.
Saturday was a night of landmarks for not only Brunson (who is also the sixth Knick to have at least seven 40-point games this year) but for the Knicks (40-27) as a whole: at 67 games, this season marks the earliest point they've made it to 40 wins since 2012-13 and the first time they've reached that landmark in consecutive seasons since the turn of the century. New York has also held five consecutive opponents to less than 100 points for the first time since 2015.
In addition to maintaining their lead on fourth place in the Eastern Conference (also gaining a game on Cleveland after the latter's loss in Houston), the Knicks are either two wins or a win and a Brooklyn loss away from picking up no worse than a Play-In Tournament spot.
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Brunson was also far from the only hero for the Knicks, newly-minted owners of a three-game winning streak: Josh Hart pulled in 12 rebounds while Isaiah Hartenstein beat him by two while containing Sacramento star Domantas Sabonis, holding him completely scoreless in the fourth quarter.
Among the reserves, Alec Burks broke out of a lengthy slump to post his most impactful performance since rejoining the Knicks at the trade deadline, scoring 12 points and pulling in three rebounds. New York was also a game-best plus-16 when he was on the floor.
Burks and fellow struggling import Bojan Bogdanovic shifted momentum by uniting to score each of the Knicks' first nine points of the final period and that 9-2 streak over the first five minutes created a permanent lead. It ended with a pair of Sabonis layup attempts rejected by Hartenstein (one of five for the starting center) and OG Anunoby and set the tone for the remainder of the game, which saw Brunson leave his mark on New York history.
The All-Star Brunson was hailed as the headliner in another difference-making performance. With Anunoby, Hart, and Donte DiVincenzo all struggling from the field (8-of-31, 3-of-18 from three), Brunson helped the Knicks keep pace while Sabonis tallied 18 in the first half, as he was able to counter with 15 in the second period alone. Perhaps most impressively, Brunson needed only three successful free throws to complete Saturday's masterclass.
Whereas the Knicks improved their postseason positioning, the Kings (38-28) fell back to the Western Conference Play-In Tournament with their loss. Sabonis managed to lead the way with 21 points and 14 rebounds on a night where De'Aaron Fox had 20 but was forced to do most of his damage from the foul line after shooting 5-of-19 from the field. New York and Sacramento will complete their yearly couple on April 4 at Madison Square Garden.
Halfway through their four-game West trek, the Knicks return to action on Monday in San Francisco against the Golden State Warriors (10 p.m. ET, MSG/ESPN).
